Kelantan’s crown prince met his Swedish bride in England: he was in university, she was doing chores for a UK family

Kelantan crown prince Tengku Muhammad Faiz Petra was studying history at a university in England when he met Swedish national Sofie Louise Johansson, who was then an au pair. Au pairs are foreign youth who live with a host family in exchange for domestic assistance such as chores and childcare.

On April 6, a custom textiles company also posted a picture of a woman it identified as Johansson, addressing her as a “beloved client”.

In the photo, Johansson is dressed in what appears to be baju kurung, a traditional malay outfit.

The couple reportedly met in England. According to The Star – who described the crown prince as “scholarly” – the prince studied for a doctorate in history at University College London and a bachelor’s in history at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

He also studied Italian at a university in Florence.

Meanwhile, Swedish paper Expressen reported that his blonde-haired bride grew up in the area around Linköping, a city in southern Sweden – where she attended a Children and Leisure programme in high school.

The vocational programme trains its graduates to work with children and young people. One Swedish site said these graduates could then go on to work as nannies or personal assistants.

After graduating from the programme, Johansson then traveled to England to work as an au pair.

According to a UK website, an au pair is a young foreigner living with a host family. In exchange for accommodation, food and the opportunity to attend a local language school, the au pair helps the host family with childcare and chores, but does not receive a salary, unlike a professional nanny.

Expressen said the couple met in England, but did not state when, although Bernama cited Kelantan Palace ceremonial chief Datuk Dr Tengku Mohamed Faziharudean Tengku Feissal as saying that the pair had known each other “for a long time”.

He added that couple’s upcoming Kota Bahru ceremony would be a “moderate” and private one, attended by only Kelantan royalty and the crown prince’s close friends.

Expressen added that Johansson’s family would travel to Malaysia to attend the wedding. In all, about 300 guests are expected.

The wedding will reportedly start with a evening solemnisation, followed by a royal banquet. According to Bernama, Tengku Mohamed Faziharudean said that the prince had asked for all wedding gifts to be channeled to welfare organisations such as orphanages and old folks’ homes.

He added that after the wedding, the crown prince might bring his new wife to events, to introduce her to the public.